


Romance 101

by JacketG



Series: ShuMako week 2020 [1]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: F/M, I know that ShuMako week was months ago, Idiots in Love, Lala deserved a confidant, Love Confessions, Romance, ShuMako Week 2020, better late than never right?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:14:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24918166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JacketG/pseuds/JacketG
Summary: Day 1: Study partners/ConfessionsAkira confesses to Makoto, but she missunderstands his words.
Relationships: Kurusu Akira/Niijima Makoto, Niijima Makoto/Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: ShuMako week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1803325
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	Romance 101

“I can be your study partner”

In that moment he felt like it was the smoothest move ever, an ingenious yet simple and direct answer that leaves no room for misinterpretation. That thought was destroyed the moment that Makoto just smiled and stood up, blurting out of the bar saying “I’ll see you tomorrow”.

Akira was left dumbfounded, did he said something wrong? Was it too soon? She said that she doesn’t have experience with relationships, but could it be that she is already interested in someone and he is just getting in the way?, this and dozens of other questions where starting to flood Akira’s mind, but out of all of those doubts, there was one that genuinely scared him: does she hated him now?.

This train of thought was stopped momentarily when the face of Lala entered his field of view, she was looking at him and it was pretty obvious that she had something to say. “What is it, Lala?, I could use some advice right now, so I would be more than glad to hear you".

Lala smiled before saying something “Ok, first of all I have to admit that it has being a while since I heard anyone coming up with a phrase like that to confess their feelings but before I say more I need to know what happend before you two came her, because you looked like you where running from someone when you entered the bar”.

Akira explained the situation to the owner of Crossroads who took a moment to process this new information and think about what to say to the young man in front of her.

“I must ask you, boy, are you sure that your feelings for this Makoto girl are romantic?”

This is the same question that Akira has being asking himself since he noticed the existence of this new feelings towards Makoto almost two months ago. But after several weeks of self reflection, he was finally able to give a definitive answer.

“Yes"

There was no trace of doubt in his words, and after that confirmation Lala continued, “You sound sure, I’ll trust you about that. The reason why I asked you that is because I wanted to know if what you said to her were your true feelings or just an impulse of the moment thanks to the adrenaline produced after what happened with her friend”.

“No, it’s not. But now that she left I lost my chance to explain what I meant”. Akira was pretty convinced that she would never speak to him for any other reason except for stuff related to the the Phantom Thieves, and even that would become extremely uncomfortable.

“Why the gloomy face, boy, you still have an opportunity to clear things out. Do you have classes on Sundays?” For a moment this words confused him, but then Akira remembered what Makoto said while walking out of the bar… _’I’ll see you tomorrow’_.

“No…we don’t have school tomorrow…d-does that mean that she wants to give me an answer?” While saying that Akira’s eyes lighted up.

Lala answered in the most honest and serious way she was able to come up with, after all, even if she wanted to reassure the kid she didn’t wanted to fill him with expectations, “Who knows? For now the only sure thing is that she wants to see you tomorrow, and you should use that to your advantage. Now I suggest that you go home too”.

After finishing that statement, Lala went back to her usual relaxed and smiling self, then she continued to speak, “Don’t get me wrong, dear, your presence will always be more than welcome in this establishment, not just because you are of great help when you work here or for what you did for Ohya, it’s also because I greatly enjoy your company. I’m only saying this because I think you need time to cool off, relax, and must importantly what are you going to say to that Makoto girl when you see her again”.

“Yeah, you’re right, I’ll be leaving now. Thank you, Lala". And with that, Akira started to walk towards the main door, but before reaching it he turned around to face the woman behind the counter once more, “I promise that after my talk with her, it doesn’t matter if the outcome is positive or negative, you will be the first to know".

“It’s a deal then, now go"

Akira just nodded, and without other word, he went back to LeBlanc.

Sunday came and Akira didn’t knew what to do, he wanted to contact Makoto but he feared being a bother to her or that she might feel creeped out if he told her to reunite just the two of them so out of the blue. For now he was going to stay at the café, reading a book to ease his mind and distract himself.

The clock shows past midday when a knock at the entrance almost made Akira jump from the stool where he was reading, slowly he walked to the entrance, thinking about who might be, LeBlanc is closed on Sundays so Sojiro don’t usually appears at the café, if it was Futaba she wouldn’t bother to knock and would just open de door, and the rest of his friends message him before coming, even Yusuke.

The identity of this visitor became clear when the door was opened revealing that it was Makoto, who was carrying her school bag and was taken by surprise with how suddenly and aggressively the door was open.

“Hi, Akira, I’m ready for our study session”

This was one of the most confusing moments in Akira’s life, and it showed on his face.

“Oh hey Makoto, what a surprise to see you here…w-what do you mean by study session?”

Makoto looked at him a bit taked back by that question.

“Did you forgot? Yesterday at Crossroads you offered to help me study about…r-romamce…and I told you that I will be seeing you today”

A moment of silence later everything came together, and the truth was revealed to Akira.

She took what he said in a literal way, to her, his confession wasn’t a confession at all, it was an offer from a friend to help her literally study a subject that she lacks knowledge off. He wanted to laugh for the ridiculousness of this situation, but also cry because that meant that he would have to confess again and he also wanted to slap himself for being so paranoid and think that she hated him.

“Umm…ok…come in, would you like to seat here or go to my room?”, this was first answer that came to his mind and he just said it, though he was already panicking on the inside for suggesting to go and be alone on his room from the get go, not because he was planning on doing something to her but because Makoto might be the one to think that he want’s to do so.

“Using one of the tables down here sounds better, that way we have more space”. Makoto sounded so calmed that it was, contradictory, making him feel more awkward.

While Makoto seated down and started to get her things out of the bag, Akira was pondering what could be the best course of action right now. It wasn’t until he made aye contact with her again that he snapped out of his stupor and realized that he was still holding the door and he promptly seated in front of her.

Makoto opened the notebook she brought and with a pencil on her right hand she looked ready to begin. This was the moment when Akira finally decided what to do, screw subtlety, screw any smooth one liner and screw any indirect phrasing, he wanted to go straight to the point and be as honest with his feelings as possible.

“Ok Akira, with what topic should we sta-" Makoto's question was cut short by Akira’s hands, who were over her notebook, this came as a surprise to her.

“Oh, so you don’t want me to write down any notes?”.

Akira is more than aware that is not Makoto’s fault, but he would be lying if he said that he didn’t felt a little frustrated by this situation. There she was, he had the girl that he is in love with in front of him, and yet he doesn’t know what to do or what to say. But nonetheless he already made the first move, the ball was already rolling and if he stop it now there might not be another chance, he had to say something.

“Makoto, this whole situation is a big misunderstanding” he would have liked it to come out in a more calmed way, but at least it was a start, it was something.

“W-what do you mean? You said it yourself, that you wanted to be my stu-".

“I know, I know that I said that, but it wasn’t literally”.

Makoto’s confusion began to rise almost to the same level that Akira’s did when he saw her at the door.

“Then…what did you meant by that?”.

Akira took a big breath, here it comes, it was now or never. He exhale and looked straight into Makoto’s eyes before speaking.

“What I meant with that was…that I like you, and I want to be your boyfriend”

Now that he ffinally said it the wait for Makoto’s response felt eternal, even though only half a minute passed before she spoke.

“W-what?!, y-you l-like me? How? Why?”

With every word that came out of her mouth she was becoming more and more nervous.

“Yes, I like you, a lot”

“B-but I don’t get it, I’m not as attractive as Ann, or as cute as Futaba, or as elegant as Haru".

Akira was surprised, this was the first time Makoto talked like this about herself, at least in front of him.

“To me you are. In my eyes, you are the most beautiful girl I’ve met”

He had to admit that he was being corny, but he didn’t care.

“But I’m full of defects, and there is a million other things that are more fun than spending time with me". This was the first time someone admitted to like her in a romantic way, other girls would feel a mix of happiness and embarrassment, but she was feeling confusion and anxiety, because to Makoto it was difficult to see what part of her could be seen as attractive to other people, so the concept of someone being in love with her was almost alien.

“Everyone has defects, that’s one of the things that makes us humans, and I like that part of you too, honestly, there is not a single aspect about you that I don’t like. Also, do you seriously think that I would had accompanied you at the arcade or helped you with Aiko if I didn’t enjoy spending time with you? Watching “Trial of the dragon IV" with you is the most fun I’ve had with a movie in my life"

“B-but I-"

“Makoto, please, stop it. It honestly hurts me to hear you talk like that. You are pretty, strong, smart and funny. You are a great student, friend, council president, fighter, driver and all around a great person, hell! I even consider you my right hand and the second in command of the Phantom Thieves. So please, stop talking like that about yourself”

She was at a loss of words.

“I-is it true?, is that how do you see me? Is that what you think about me?”

“Of course it is!, why would I be lying to you right now?. So…I know this might be a little sudden, but I would like to hear your answer, know how do you feel about me…but…if you need some time to think…”

The truth is that Makoto has being experiencing certain feelings when she is in Akira’s company. For example, she has found herself wishing for their studying sessions to last longer than what they do, or calling him at night to discuss their plans about their next target only as an excuse to talk with him, when Aiko called him her boyfriend she didn’t showed in that moment, but she spended the rest of the day with a slight blush on her face and a smile. Even more, when she planned that double date the only person on her mind to fill the role of fake boyfriend was Akira, and even after that she was tempted to ask him on a date under the excuse of “practicing In case Aiko asked her for another double date". In the beginning she associated this feelings of wanting to spend more time with him with just feelings of friendship, but she had her doubts, doubts that were cleared with Akira’s words. Now she was sure, this feelings are not feelings of friendship, they are something more.

Makoto decided to look straight into Akira’s eyes and a smile appeared on her face.

“I like you too, Akira, and I would be more than happy to be your study partner”

It took Akira a couple of seconds to process what just happened, but once it hit him he almost exploded with happines.

The new couple spended the rest of the day together talking, and before they even realized it they were seated side by side, hugged and laughing.

When the sun started to set and the moon became visible Akira accompanied his now girlfriend to the train station, where Makoto surprised him with a kiss before getting on board.

“I’ll see you tomorrow” she said with an intense blush.

“Y-yeah, see you tomorrow”

After this exchange the train parted and Akira was left alone in the station.

Now that it was just him and his thoughts, two things became clear: the first was that this has to be one of the happiest days of his life, and the second was that he now had the duty to go visit Crossroads.

“Lala is going to lose her mind”

**Author's Note:**

> Boy oh boy, I´m finally uploading everything I had stored.  
> Hope all of you enjoy.


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